Rumors
by PhoenixRae
Summary: Oliver Queen was seen half-naked lying on a couch inside the Isis office while Chloe Sullivan stood over him in the process of unbuttoning her blouse. Rumors started flying between the Queen Industries CEO and acting Isis CEO. Are they or aren't they?
1. I the Favor

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

**Summary:** Oliver Queen was seen half-naked lying on a couch inside the Isis office while Chloe Sullivan stood over him in the process of unbuttoning her blouse. Rumors started flying between the Queen Industries CEO and acting Isis CEO. Are they or aren't they? Heck, even their closest friends aren't in the know -- and they _should_ know since they work side-by-side practically day-in, day-out!

* * *

**I. the Favor**

OLIVER QUEEN BURST IN TO THE ISIS OFFICE unannounced and unexpected as well. Chloe was at the back simultaneously monitoring the screens that were flashing info in a speed of light that no regular Jane would be able to decipher unless they had super enhanced powers to read what would look like gibberish to others.

"Sidekick?" Oliver called out, craning his head in all directions in search of the petite blonde. She was their Sidekick. She was Watchtower. She was...well, she was the sole female within the Justice League whom Oliver knew could help him out of this sticky mess he found himself in to right now. "Watchtower?" he called again when Chloe didn't reply. He knew she was here. The door was unlocked and he stopped by the Talon before he headed here. "Chloe?" he finally called her by her Christian name when she still didn't answer him.

Oliver was slowly losing his patience. She couldn't have run out to grab something; she wouldn't leave the door unlocked if she did. He started pacing about then decided to check the back where Chloe kept her state-of-the-art 'toys' that helped her and Clark before they merged forces with the rest of the Justice League.

Oliver found her deep in research with at least a dozen flat screen monitor in front of her. She was standing by the podium-like control panel for all the screens, her stance relaxed but her fingers were tapping the sides of the table. She was in serious research mode.

"Didn't you hear me calling for you?" Oliver said when he walked in front of the busy Chloe.

"Can't you see I'm busy here, Oliver?" was Chloe's curt reply, her eyes were focused on the screens regardless of Oliver's presence in the room. "What do you want? Clark's at the Daily Planet earning his honest living -- not that saving lives on the side isn't honest living, but the DP's _paying_ him for his hard work. And if you're wondering where Lois is, then all you have to do is find Clark and you'll find Lois."

"Now _why_ would I be looking for either Clark or Lois?" Oliver frowned.

Chloe let out a strangled sigh and hit a key on the keyboard in front of her that shut down all the monitors. She waited a couple of seconds before turning her full attention to the tall blond billionaire standing in the middle of her private sanctuary room in the Isis office.

"To _what_ do I owe this unexpected visit of yours, Oliver?"

She was still addressing him as 'Oliver' as opposed to 'Ollie' like what the others do. That must mean she was still miffed at him for barging in on her and her _date_ three nights ago.

"Got a few minutes to spare for me?" he asked tucking his hands in his jeans pockets.

"I'm a busy woman in the middle of a research work," she told him.

"And so am I," he said.

Chloe cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. "What do you want Oliver?" She wasn't in the mood to play nice with him today of all days. She just caught wind of a probable meteor infectee that was being hunted by LuthorCorp to be taken to their secret labs for more research.

"I need your help," Oliver cut through the chase and came right out. Given Chloe's current mood, if he continued to beat around the bush he'd less likely convince her to help bail him out.

"Help with what? I thought you have a lock-down on the 33.1 activities and everything LuthorCorp spearheaded?"

"I do," he agreed. "But this help I'm asking is _not_ work-related," he confessed.

Chloe's brow rose higher. "You mean it's a personal one?"

"Yup," he nodded.

"_How_ personal and _why?_" she questioned.

"_Very_ personal and because you're the only person I know who'd be able to help that I won't get entangled with in the end."

"What?"

Oliver didn't know how to broach up the favor he wanted to ask from her. A part of him knew Chloe would flip out and freak out on him probably, while another part of him knew that she'd help him regardless especially after he explained to her why he wanted to ask her to do what he wanted to ask her to do.

"Well?" Chloe pressed.

Oliver took a deep breath and chewed on his lower lip for a while, contemplating on how best to broach up the subject without causing too much trouble.


	2. II the Ruse

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

**Author's Note:** I would like to just clear some things out. Obviously this fic is taking place some time during _or_ after this current season of **_Smallville_**, but I'm changing some things like Chloe and Jimmy being engaged. In the series they _are_ engaged, but for the sake of making this fic work, forget that Chloe's sporting a ring this season.

* * *

**II. the Ruse**

THIS IS BY FAR THE STUPIDEST, CRAZIEST and completely insane thing I've ever done in order to save a friend's ass," hissed Chloe while maintaining a syrupy sweet smile plastered on her face. She was pushing a naked-from-the-waist-up Oliver back until the back of his legs hit the leather couch.

"I know, but I wouldn't have asked you if I knew you wouldn't be able to deliver," replied Oliver who was wearing the same syrupy sweet smile on his handsome face while he gazed up longingly at Chloe who loomed over him poised to remove her top.

He put a call through his security team before he and Chloe stepped out of the back room of the Isis office to confirm if the paparazzo's followed him to Chloe's office as expected. Ever since news leaked out of his involvement with a certain heiress and an impending wedding was in the works, Oliver hadn't had a decent day without being hounded by the press. Once he it was confirmed that the paparazzo were camped outside the building housing Isis and some were even camped out on the buildings across from the office hoping to catch a glimpse of him inside the Isis office with Isis's acting CEO. It was late afternoon so the glare from the sun wouldn't really hide them from whomever was peering out their window on the building across.

"How far do you want me to go with this?" Chloe asked while untucking her blouse.

"Hmm..." Oliver placed drummed his fingers against his lips, his eyes full of mischief as he watched the perky and professional Chloe Sullivan undress before him. "I think it will really hit home if you unbutton your blouse and expose some chest -- bra-clad still for decency's sake between us, but to the paparazzo camped outside this building, it will be good as you really showed your breasts."

Chloe wrinkled her nose and swatted him playfully. Oliver laughed out loud and ducked to avoid being hit directly.

"Pervert," she muttered and proceeded to unbutton her blouse. "I still can't believe you talked me into doing this for you."

"Hey, what are friends for?" he grinned.

"I've helped bail Clark out of numerous sticky situations, but I never once undressed for him when I am not under the influence of red alien rocks," she confessed.

Oliver's eyebrow rose at this surprising confession. "You've gotten down and dirty with Boyscout?"

Chloe finished unbuttoning her blouse. She was in dire need of something to hit Oliver with other than her hands and on instinct she took off her top and used it to swat him. She gasped when Oliver got hold of the other end of her blouse when it hit him and tugged. She staggered forward a couple of steps before Oliver jack-knifed off the couch and let her land against his chest.

"_Oompff!_" Chloe's head snapped back at the unexpected force and met Oliver's gaze. Her eyes widen when she saw the sudden change in Oliver's eyes. Gone was the teasing, playful gleam she saw in there while they were starting out this playacting. Instead it was replaced by something akin to...Chloe gulped and stopped herself from thinking of the word to associate the look in Oliver's eyes with.

"O-Ollie..." she stammered.

"Shhh..." Oliver whispered before his head swooped down and caught her slightly parted mouth in a kiss.

Chloe's initial reaction was to stiffen as the kiss wasn't part of their plan, but if Oliver was changing the play then she must play along with it. Besides, it wasn't like his kiss was bad. It was soft and gentle, and very passionate. Oh jeezums! No wonder Lois went crazy over this man.

* * *

On the building across from where the Isis office was housed countless freelance photographers' professional cameras were clicking away, capturing each moment on film that happened between the two CEOs. Each person was grinning devilishly at the thought of receiving quite a lot of money once he or she sold copies of this afternoon tryst between Oliver Queen and Chloe Sulllivan.


	3. III the Front Page

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

* * *

**III. the Front Page**

_THWACK!_

Clark Kent spat out the coffee he was drinking as soon as he saw the cover of one of the numerous tabloid papers in Metropolis that was thrown on his desk. It was soon followed by a copy of today's issue of the Daily Planet but with a different blown-up picture on the cover.

"What the hell?" he demanded and looked up at the person responsible for bringing the two papers' front page to his attention.

Lois Lane stood by Clark's desk with her hands fisted against her hips. "I thought _you_ might know what the hell's going on between those two."

"Me?" Clark looked like he just swallowed a few mothballs. "How the hell would I know?"

"Because you're close buds with Oliver _and_ Chloe, that's why."

"But you and Chloe are cousins. And the last I heard Chloe was still mad at Oliver for ruining her date a few nights ago."

"Mad?" Lois echoed. She leaned over and jabbed one index finger on the cover of the tabloid magazine showing a half-naked Oliver and equally half-naked Chloe locked in a passionate embrace inside Chloe's office. "_This_ doesn't look like she's pissed off at him."

Clark looked at the photo once again. "Maybe they've patched things up?"

Lois' glare couldn't skewered him alive.

"What? That's the only plausible explanation for them to be caught like this," he pointed at the photos on the front pages of the two papers.

"For how long?" Lois demanded. "I mean, how long have they been seeing each other? We're practically around them 24/7 and we never caught wind of what was going on between them. Hell, I didn't even sense a certain attraction between them whenever they're in a room together!"

Clark watched his partner and friend as she made her speech. She seemed very bothered by this surprise. He knew she still felt something for Oliver, but after Oliver's near-death experience a few months back, Lois told him she'd move on and never fancy the billionaire humanitarian ever again.

"...and wasn't he linked to that French heiress? I thought I read about an impending wedding in the near future between Oliver and Simone Levesque," Lois stopped her pacing and glared back at Clark who remained quiet the entire time she was venting.

"That's what I thought so too," he shrugged. "Look, we're all invited to Oliver's place for some dinner and movie tonight. Why don't we ask him then, huh?"

"Will Chloe be there?"

"She was invited too. And a few other guys will be there."

* * *

Chloe walked the rest of the way to the front doors of Queen Industries holding her purse to her face to avoid having her photo taken by the numerous paparazzo that appeared out of nowhere ever since news leaked out of her and Oliver's supposed affair. She didn't think she'd garner more attention because of her supposed entanglement with Oliver Queen, but as soon as she turned on the TV this morning to watch some morning news she nearly choked on her toothbrush when she saw a picture of her and Oliver in an intimate position flashed on the screen.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sullivan," smiled the receptionist as soon as she entered the building.

"Hi," Chloe smiled and approached the friendly brunette. She glanced quickly over her shoulder and let out a sigh of relief when the paparazzo's were barred from entering the building's premises.

"Don't worry. Mr. Queen gave strict orders that no one can come in to the building unless they have an appointment _or_ if they are Board members or Queen Industries employees with valid identifications of course," explained the receptionist.

"Oh, that's good to know. But, I fall under the 'no appointment' category," Chloe answered.

The brunette smiled perkily. "You're an exception, Miss Sullivan. Mr. Queen gave specific orders that should we see you or your cousin, Miss Lane or your friend Mr. Kent that you're allowed to walk in and out freely," she explained.

"Oh, well, that's good to know then," Chloe smiled back. "Anyway, is Mr. Queen available?"

"Yes. I think he's expecting you. Just take the elevator to the right hidden from view and press P and it will take you to his penthouse office," she explained.

"Thanks," Chloe waved at the brunette and followed her instructions. She hopped on to the express elevator that opened up to Oliver's penthouse office. Instead of her being greeted by yet another receptionist, she was shocked when she emerged right inside Oliver's office.

"_Chloe!_" Oliver called out, appearing from out of nowhere and engulfed her in a bear hug.

Chloe returned his hug but broke up the embrace real quick. She was still reeling for being within close proximities with Oliver after last night.

"Hi Oliver," she greeted. "I think you know why I'm here."

Oliver took a step back, noting the chilly vibe she was emanating telling him she wasn't in a friendly mood. He gestured for her to have a seat at one of the two chairs across from his desk before rounding the table to sit behind it.

"It's both in local and national papers, tabloid papers and magazines," he answered her unspoken question. "It wouldn't be long before it goes international," he shrugged and sat back.

"_International?_" Chloe's face blanched. "Oliver, what the hell is this mess you got _me_ in to?" she demanded.

"Don't worry, Sidekick, it will blow-over soon," he reassured her.

"When? And _why_ did you drag me into this tabloid mess to begin with?"

"I already explained everything to you yesterday."

"Yeah, but must we publicly show _how_ involved we are?" she questioned.

"Those were just pictures," he shrugged.

"Yeah, of you and I half-naked and locking lips in _my office!_" Chloe nearly screamed in frustration. "And there's also the media that's been hounding me since this morning. I'm surprised Lois and Clark weren't dispatched by Tess to cover this newsworthy story yet."

"Lois and Clark are probably as dumbfounded as the rest of the population are over this story about _our_ supposed relationship."

"Are we going to tell them?"

Oliver frowned. "Tell who? And tell what?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Lois. Clark. The rest of the League. Are we going to _explain_ to them what's really going on here?"

"No," was Oliver's quick reply.

"What?" Chloe looked scandalized. "Why not?"

"The less people who knew the better. Not that I don't trust our friends, but I just want this to be kept between us. It would be easier for us to playact while the others are kept in the dark. At least their reactions aren't fabricated," he explained.

Chloe let out a long, exasperated sigh and sat back in the chair.


	4. IV Dinner and a Movie

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

**Author's Note:** First of all, thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed and enjoyed the first three chapters of this fic. I wasn't really sure if I was making sense with the story as I wrote the first chapters; in my head the story made sense, and I'm glad you all liked the first installments. **_Star Fata:_** I think back in either season 1 or 2 Chloe and Pete were infected by the red rocks as well as Clark, unless my memory's foggy; I am not at all up-to-date will the series' episodes, but I do recall watching that particular episode. If I'm mistaken in my facts please, feel free to correct me. Thanks!

* * *

**IV. Dinner and a Movie**

CHLOE CONTEMPLATED ON WHETHER TO MAKE an appearance at Oliver's place this evening or not. It had been a somewhat bi-weekly staple for the League to meet up at Command Center (aka Oliver's pad) at least once in a while to update each other on everything and anything they heard that might threaten the world as they knew it. She wasn't up to playing Oliver's supposed 'secret' lover.

When she left Oliver's office the other day after the story of their supposed affair was leaked out to the public, they agreed that no one but the two of them would know of their plan. In front of their friends they'd act normal; it was just for show that they did what they did and no need to keep it up for their friends' sake.

Clark called her up an hour ago to inform her that Lois decided to join them for this evening's gathering. He called Oliver as well and asked if it would be alright to bring Lois along. Oliver said it was no problem. If Lois was present, then that means there would be no League-talk-slash-discussion since Lois doesn't know that each and every person present tonight had secret powers or identities.

Oliver was monitoring the elevator surveillance. Everyone has arrived for the bi-weekly gathering at Command Center. Even Lois made it to this evening's soiree. Victor and Bart arrived at the same time while AC and Dinah arrived with Clark whom they met waiting for the elevator. Lois followed the threesome shortly afterwards and then no one else. He kept on glancing at his wristwatch noting the time. They don't usually start dinner until six-thirty and it was only fifteen after six. Chloe must've gotten herself lost in her work once again hence the delay. Nevertheless he picked up his cell phone and pressed the speed dial number for Chloe's cell.

"Hello?" Chloe answered after the third ring.

"Where are you?" Oliver demanded, his voice rose a pitch higher and caught the attention of the others in the room. He gave them an apologetic smile when they all turned to him curiously before presenting them his back and walked away and lowered his voice. "Are you coming?"

"I don't know Oliver. I don't think I'll be able to pull this off," she admitted.

"Pull _what_ off, Chloe? I told you, in front of our friends we don't have to playact like we're lovers," he assured her.

"Yeah, but what if they started questioning me or you or _us_ about our infamous tabloid cover pictures, huh?"

"We can always deny it," he suggested.

"How? I mean, I am _not_ a good liar, and Clark knows me so damn well he'd be able to detect if I'm lying or not the moment I stepped in to your apartment."

"Forget Clark. Forget Lois. Forget the rest of the guys. Just get your ass here _pronto_ so we can all start dinner and enjoy a decent movie that Bart picked for us to watch this week."

Chloe groaned. "Bart picked the movie?"

"Yup," he nodded.

"Oh boy..." she sighed.

Oliver chuckled. He knew exactly what Chloe was thinking _and_ feeling. Bart's choice for a good Friday night flick for them to watch often treaded along the lines of passionate and erotic, or if he was in one of his moods he'd rent something gory and uber scary that only those who love that kind of movie genre would actually watch the entire movie.

"Let's hope he rented a chick-flick movie as opposed to his usual choices," Chloe mumbled.

"I haven't asked him yet, but don't worry, if he chose one of his usual faves then I'll ask the rest to vote if they wanted to watch it or we pick another one," he promised her.

"Thank you," she sighed.

"Great. So, when can we expect you?" he asked.

"In a few seconds?" she replied and stepped in to the elevator.

Oliver turned to look at the elevator surveillance monitor and sure enough he saw Chloe pressing the button to his floor. "I'll see you in a bit," he said before disconnecting the line. He walked up to his laptop and pressed a few keys that automatically will unlock the elevator doors once Chloe reached his floor.

"Was that Chloe?" Lois appeared beside him holding a glass of wine she poured for herself and everybody else.

"Thanks," Oliver accepted the flute and took a huge gulp before placing it on the table. "Yeah, that was your cousin. She's on her way up now."

"Really? You two seem to be chummy lately," Lois fell into step beside him, acting casual while trying to get the scoop out of him.

Oliver knew Lois' tactic by now and was prepared to be cornered this evening when Clark mentioned Lois coming to join them for dinner tonight.

"Chummy?" he echoed.

"Yeah," Lois nodded. "I mean, I know you and Chloe became good friends too because of your association with Clark. I doubt it was through your association with me in the past because, let's face it, you and Chloe hardly saw each other back when we were dating," she shrugged.

Oliver stopped and turned to face his ex-girlfriend. Usually when he ends a relationship none of the women from his past think highly of him nor do they end up becoming friends. With Lois, Oliver had to thank Clark and Chloe for keeping them on friendly terms even after the way their relationship ended.

"Queen Industries is affiliated with Isis, so of course Chloe and I will become close seeing as we are both CEOs for said companies," Oliver pointed out.

"Understandable," Lois nodded and took a quick sip of her wine. "_But_ sometimes a certain line gets crossed and blurred and the next thing you know you're suddenly _more than_ just business partners." She was taking a jab at those steamy pictures of him and Chloe that turned up on the front pages of every newspaper, magazines and tabloid papers in the country.

"Are you trying to hint at something here, Lois?" Oliver figured he might as well _not_ beat around the bush with Lois Lane. If he wanted their friends to _not_ think too much of what just recently graced the front pages of every tabloid newspaper in Metropolis and the rest of the country, then he'd better start acting as if it was nothing.

Lois pursed her lips in annoyance. She met Oliver's gaze and waited two heartbeats before she opened her mouth, but she was prevented from saying something when the elevator doors opened and out came Chloe all smiles and being her perky self.

"Sorry I'm late guys!" She said to everyone in general.

"Chloelicious!" Bart exclaimed and beat Victor, AC and even Clark from greeting her.

"_Whoa!_" Chloe exclaimed when she was pulled in a tight hug by the fastest member of the League. It was a brief albeit tight hug before he took her hand, lifted it to his lips and planted a soft, gentlemanly kiss on her knuckles.

"I was beginning to wonder if you're ever going to grace us with your lovely presence this evening, _mi dulce_," Bart grinned wickedly.

AC, Victor, Clark and even Oliver himself all rolled their eyes at Bart's attempt at sweeping Chloe off her feet. He'd always tried to woo the petite blonde ever since he first met her a few years back, but his attempts were always fraught with obstacles.

"Hey, how come you're all sugary sweet and droopy-eyed over Chloe and not with me?" Lois scolded Bart teasingly.

The youngest League member gave Lois Lane an impish grin over his shoulder and winked. "You're special, _mi fuego_," he said before letting go of Chloe's hand and stepped away so the others could greet her too.

Lois cocked an eyebrow and leaned close to Oliver and whispered, "He called Chloe 'my sweet' and called me 'my fire.' Should I be insulted or complimented?"

Oliver chuckled and on habit looped his arm over his ex-girlfriend's shoulders and resumed walking to join the others. "Bart's a natural born flirt, Lois. _Everything_ that comes out of that kid's mouth is a compliment -- unless you're on his bad side _then_ whatever comes out of his mouth is nothing but insult to your person," he explained.

"So I should be glad I'm on his good side even though he was more googly-eyed over my cousin than me?" Lois sounded hurt that she was ignored.

Oliver laughed and squeezed her tightly beside him. "Don't be jealous. Prior to you meeting Bart, he and Chloe already met a few years back and from what I remembered, they shared a _moment_ or something that sealed Bart's ultimate crush on your cousin."

"I suppose. But why must Bart be so flirty?" she complained.

Oliver's response was a chuckle before they joined the circle of their closest friends.

* * *

Dinner was a noisy affair. Everyone wanted to talk at the same time, and the main topic that evening was Oliver and Chloe's supposed love affair that was kept underwraps from the lot of them. Bart was the noisiest one to voice out his disappointment that he had to find out about Chloe and Oliver when he passed by a newsstand and saw the cover of more than four tabloids magazines on his way back to Metropolis.

"No wonder Ollie barged in on Chloe's date that night," Victor chuckled and nudged AC beside him. "That dude she was out with sure looked like a good competition against Oliver," he added.

"And here we thought you were just saving Chloe from a potentially _disastrous_ relationship with that guy," Dinah teased.

"Yeah. Little did we know that you were secretly stewing because while you two are keeping your relationship under the radar from everyone, Chloe's keeping up appearances by _dating_," AC added.

"So _how long_ have you two been seeing each other?" Lois jumped in on the bandwagon and dropped in her two-cents' worth of questioning. She felt Clark kick her under the table and she kicked him back. They agreed they wouldn't be discussing the latest gossip about Oliver and Chloe tonight and yet here she was taking advantage of the situation.

Oliver and Chloe exchanged looks then. Chloe cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head a bit, leaving Oliver to answer that question from Lois. She didn't want to muck-up anything, and giving Lois a plausible answer would be tricky since she knew her question was a loaded question.

"Chloe and I have known each other the same length of time that you and I have known each other, Lois," Oliver answered.

"I know that," Lois smiled. "But my question is, how long have you two been _seeing_ each other?"

Oliver quirked an eyebrow then glanced at a very uneasy Chloe who was seated to his left. She chose not to join in on the conversation and pretended to fiddle with her dinner some more.

"We've been seeing each other for the same length of time. Unlike you and I, Lois, who had a _break_ in our relationship, Chloe and I somewhat kept in touch," he answered and added his trademark megawatt grin. Let her think whatever she wanted to think of that answer. When he told Chloe that it would be easy-breezy dealing with their friends about the ruse they setup for the press, he didn't think Lois would be grilling them like wild boar on a spit turning them over and over on an open fire.

Lois was momentarily stumped for rebuttal. Chloe took advantage of her cousin's sudden inebriated state and excused herself from the table.

"I'm just going to grab the dessert I bought for us," she announced when she got up and disappeared to the kitchen right away.

Oliver waited a few seconds before pushing his seat back and announced to the others that he'll just give Chloe a hand in the kitchen with the dessert.

Everyone stared after the couple that just left. Chloe and Oliver left quite a lot of jaws wagging in their wake, but neither one of them seemed to care. After a few seconds conversation at the table picked up once again, and the topic was Oliver and Chloe and _what_ it was they were keeping from them.

* * *

"Need help there, Sidekick?"

Chloe jumped at the sound of Oliver's voice. She was carefully cutting the apple pie she left heated in the oven as soon as she arrived to remain warm.

"Boy, don't you ever make any noise?" she complained after her heartbeat returned back to normal.

Oliver smirked and pushed away from the kitchen doorway. "Sorry. It was out of habit that I must remain stealthy," he answered.

"For someone who doesn't have superhuman powers, you sure know how to sneak up on people without making a noise," she mumbled and continued cutting the pie.

"Hey, I gotta muster_ something_ to compensate for my lack of superhuman powers," he quipped.

Chloe rolled her eyes at his remark. "If you want to help grab the tub of ice cream I shoved in your freezer and place those dessert plates on the trays," she ordered.

Oliver did what he was told to do. He grabbed the tub of vanilla ice cream from the fridge and placed it on the center counter. Chloe just finished cutting the pie evenly and brought the whole thing to the counter. She started placing the pies on the dessert plates Oliver fixed up for her, making sure she left enough room for the scoop or two of ice cream she'd be placing alongside the pie.

Oliver didn't ask her what she wanted him to do next. He grabbed an ice cream scooper from the cabinet and started placing two scoops each beside the pie on the plate. By the time Chloe was done placing the last slice on the last plate, Oliver was just finishing the second to the last plate.

"Wow, we made quite the efficient team," grinned Chloe.

Oliver chuckled and placed the empty ice cream tub with the scooper inside on the counter and admired their handy work.

"Not bad," he nodded and glanced her way. "So, should we start our own dessert restaurant or what?" he teased.

"Shut up, Oliver," Chloe scolded then turned her back to him to dump the empty pie plate into the trash can under the sink.

Oliver cleaned up after himself too and dumped the empty ice cream tub into the trash and dumped the scooper in the sink. He turned on the faucet a bit to wet the scooper before turning to look back at the dessert on the counter. Chloe was busy putting the finishing touches to the ice creams: a nice serving of chocolate syrup to satiate everyone's sweet tooth.

"They aren't holding back on their punches out there, are they?" he said after a long stretch of silence and Chloe was halfway done putting syrup on the ice creams.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder where Oliver stood leaning back against the sink, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I told you it won't be easy duping them."

"I don't mind the other guys. It's Lois I'm worried about," he confessed.

Chloe rolled her eyes again. "_Now_ he started worrying about his ex," she mumbled then returned back to what she was doing. "Didn't you think about _that_ before you railroaded me to agreeing to do this silly pretend love affair with you, hm?"

"To be honest Lois didn't even enter the equation," he shrugged.

Chloe's eyes nearly bugged out from their sockets and she whipped around to face her cousin's ex-boyfriend, the very same man Lois cried her heart out to after the end of their whirlwind love affair.

"You mean to tell me my cousin meant _nothing_ to you at all?"

"I didn't mean it that way," Oliver cleared out.

"How else could you mean it when it sounded just like that to my ears."

Oliver let out a frustrated sigh and cocked his head forward. His mouth ran off on him again and he spoke before thinking things through first.

"I care for Lois, Chloe. Heck, I _loved_ your cousin. But after we split up and I realized I can't really put her life in danger because of what I do, I learned to deal with it; to cope with the realization that I will be loner probably for the rest of my life," he confessed. "And then I came back to Metropolis and ran into her again. It's kinda hard not to since she is Clark's partner at the Planet and you two are cousins. But by then I already made up my mind that Lois and I will remain friends -- or acquaintances at the least if she held a grudge against me for ending our relationship."

"So what you're saying is Lois easily melded into your _friends_ mold. You see her the same way you see AC and the others. You automatically assumed that she'd understand why you did what you did and why we're playacting."

Oliver flashed his killer playboy grin once again and crossed the space between them. He snatched the chocolate syrup from her hands and finished smearing chocolate over the ice creams. He didn't answer her right away. He waited until he was finished and put the syrup back in the fridge before turning to her and said, "I don't want to lose Lois just because I was a jerk and I put the League first before us. She's a good person and I like her company."

Chloe understood what he was saying. She reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm, her thumb gently caressing his cheekbone while their eyes locked. A slow smile appeared on her face. She only meant to comfort him, to let him know that as a _friend_, she knew what he was trying to achieve as far as his relationship with Lois was concerned. Her action wasn't an invitation for him to swoop his head down and cover her mouth with his yet again. But that was what happened and it shocked her.

She was momentarily frozen where she stood leaning against the center counter with Oliver leaning down on her, his mouth gently urging hers to part. She felt his hands on her waist, gripping her gently as he pulled her closer to him, flattening her against his body.

Sighing, Chloe surrendered to Oliver's expert kisses. Her mouth parted and allowed his tongue to delve in and plundered her mouth. Her arms automatically rose up and wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling his head down, wanting him to deepen their kiss.

* * *

Clark was jostled back to dining room when Lois pushed her chair back and got up. He was just spying on Chloe and Oliver in the kitchen using his X-ray vision. He wanted to know what was keeping the two of them in there. Guiltily he used his enhanced hearing power to eavesdrop on their conversation and found out exactly what was going on.

The 'love affair' was just a ruse; a cover-up for something that only Oliver and Chloe knew. They obviously didn't want anyone in the League to know hence the secrecy. But the kiss...

"I'm going to check on those two and see what's the hold-up with our dessert," announced Lois. "They better not be locking lips or getting jiggy with each other in the kitchen," she added before walking away from the table.

Clark knew what Lois would walk in to and he could hazard a guess that it would put a dent on Lois' relationship with Chloe and probably on her fragile relationship with Oliver either. If Chloe and Oliver were just playacting, the smooch-fest they were locked in right now wouldn't convince Lois and the others that they weren't an item.

"Uh, Lois!" Clark called and left his seat. He caught Lois's arm before she could take another step and stopped her. "Let me check in on them. They're probably having a hard time carrying the trays," he said. "Just sit back and we'll be out in a jiff," he added before he disappeared to the direction of the kitchen.

He walked in on Chloe and Oliver _still_ making out. He was figuring out a way to dislodge the two without making the situation seem awkward, but he was out of ideas. He looked around the kitchen and his eyes landed on the fire extinguisher. Suddenly a smart-alecky thought entered his mind and cleared his throat before saying, "You two better stop that or I'll be forced to use this on you," he held up the extinguisher.

Oliver and Chloe sprung away from each other as if they were burnt -- _not_ doused in cool foam -- and stared wildly at each other.

"That wasn't..."

"It was..."

They both began to speak but no coherent thought entered their minds.

Clark put the extinguisher back in its place and rolled his eyes at his two dumbfounded friends.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Good thing I convinced Lois to let _me_ check in on you two," he crossed the distance separating the three of them and stopped to look at the desserts on the trays. "And good thing I came when I did otherwise the ice creams would've melted by the time you two served it to us."

Chloe blushed profusely and looked away.

Oliver covered his embarrassment with a cough and chuckle.

Clark looked from one friend to the next, waiting for either one of them to say something. When neither one of them did he took the liberty of saying, "After the movie and once everyone's left, we three will have a talk. Now, compose both yourselves and let's serve our hungry friends their dessert!" he picked up one tray and shoved it at Oliver who looked less frazzled than Chloe. He grabbed the other tray and turned to Chloe, "You can sneak in to the washroom to freshen up. We'll make up an excuse for you," he said then led the way out of the kitchen.

"Good idea," Chloe nodded then stole a quick, embarrassed glance at Oliver who was taking his time from following Clark. He seemed to want to say something to her, but then changed his mind. He gave her a curt nod and was after Clark out of the kitchen.

Chloe waited until both men cleared the kitchen before collapsing against the center counter. What the hell was she thinking making out with Oliver Queen of all people?! Their one-time make-out session was fuelled by their need to playact for the sake of the paparazzo following him. Tonight there was no need to act googly-eyed at each other.

"Oh crap," she muttered and covered her face with her hands.


	5. V the Third Party

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

* * *

**V. the Third Party**

EVERYBODY LINGERED A BIT LONGER AFTER Bart's movie choice for this evening ended. For a change he surprised everyone by bringing a chick-flick that the women really enjoyed. At one point Lois, Chloe and even Dinah were heard sighing at certain scenes from _Made of Honor_, that movie with that McDreamy dude from that popular doctors TV series.

"Man, I wish I have a best guy friend like that," sighed Dinah after the movie ended.

"A spoiled, rich womanizing babe?" chortled Lois.

"Yeah," Dinah nodded. "I mean, obviously he knew that the reason behind him not finding that one person was because she's been with him since he accidentally climbed into bed with her back in college ten years before!"

"But then sometimes best guy and girl friends _don't_ end up together," Chloe pointed out, nursing her cup of coffee that was made shortly after the movie started.

Lois cocked an eyebrow and eyed her cousin from where she sat on the armchair across the room. "Are you referring to _your_ and Clark's _failed_ attempt at romance back in high school?" she teased.

Chloe rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. She should've known better and kept her mouth shut. She almost forgot that she and Clark tried the dating thing back in high school, but obviously he loved Lana more and wanted her more too so she ended up just settling for the best friend role.

Oliver frowned and looked at Chloe. "You and Clark _dated?_" he sounded incredulous.

"It was a long time ago," Chloe waved off then turned to her cousin, "And after a _day_ of being together we broke up. Heck, we weren't even together for 24 hours and it was over already."

"What happened?" Bart asked, his curiosity piqued by this new tidbit concerning the power-duo known as Chloe and Clark.

Chloe glanced at where Clark was seated at the foot of Lois' armchair holding his own coffee cup. His eyes were averted from looking at anyone and concentrated on the contents of his coffee cup.

"Do you want to explain what happened, Clark?" Chloe cajoled.

Clark lifted his gaze then and met Chloe's. He let out a long, hard sigh then addressed the others. "Lana happened," he said and that was all the answer everyone needed to hear. No further explanations, just 'Lana happened' and everything clicked.

Everyone in the room knew that Lana Lang was the love of Clark Kent's life, regardless of how close and lovely and smart Chloe Sullivan was. Chloe was often cast in the background whenever Lana's around in Clark's eyes.

Conversations continued after that. They discussed the movie some more before deciding on _who_ will be bringing the movie for their next bi-weekly get-together at Oliver's. Lois, enjoying her first time joining their merry little group, offered to pick their next get-together movie.

"Thanks for including me in this week's dinner gathering guys," Lois said before stepping in to the elevator with AC and Dinah. "Awesome meal. Wonderful company. _Great_ choice of movie," she emphasized 'great' and beamed at Bart when she said it, "it beats my usual _boring_ Friday night routine."

"You're welcome, Lois," Oliver smiled. He stepped up and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Take care. Do you need a ride back?" he asked.

Lois cocked an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder at Chloe who remained behind along with Clark. "Isn't Chloe leaving yet?"

Oliver glanced over his shoulder and looked at the twosome left behind.

"I'll take her home, Lois," Clark answered.

"Oh, okay then. I guess if AC or Dinah can give me a lift back to the Talon that'll be great," she smiled.

"No problem. I'm dropping Dinah off her place anyway," AC smiled.

A final round of goodbyes was said before Oliver's pad was empty except for Chloe and Clark who remained behind.

"So, would you two care to explain to me _why_ the secrecy and the charade?" Clark got right to the point the moment the elevator door closed and its occupants safely being delivered to the ground floor.

"What secrecy? What charade?" was Oliver's nonchalant reply.

Clark pursed his lips at Oliver's indifference before turning his gaze to his best friend since his childhood days. Chloe felt squeamish where she sat on the leather loveseat. She couldn't really tell Clark why she agreed to Oliver's wild plan without Ollie himself explaining to Clark the particulars.

"That scene in the kitchen I walked in on earlier, that was no charade. Now the photos that appeared on the front pages of the Daily Planet and countless other papers and tabloid magazines _were_ for show. What I want to know why? And why can't you two let the rest of the League know about it?"

"Because it doesn't concern the League," Oliver replied. "At least, not _yet_ anyway," he added.

Chloe frowned when she heard Oliver added the last part. When he came to her that afternoon and asked for her help, he didn't mention anything about involving the League later on in this scheme.

"What do you mean?" Chloe demanded and was off the loveseat in a heartbeat. "I thought you said the favor you asked was a _personal_ one."

Oliver walked around his work table and started shuffling through the papers and folders littering it. He took his time from answering until he found what he was looking for. He crossed the space between him and his two closest confidants and handed the folder to Chloe.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Just read it," Oliver urged.

Chloe opened the folder and read first page on the stack of at least a dozen papers. She flipped to the second page and gasped when she saw a blown-up picture of Simone Levesque, the French heiress rumored to be Oliver's fiancée. She read down further and gulped.

Clark watched Chloe's reaction and knew something was wrong. Her expression was changing from bad to worse as she flipped through the pages contained in the folder Oliver handed to her. When she was done she handed the folder to Clark then asked Oliver, "When did you find out?"

Oliver let out a long, exasperated sigh and walked back to his desk. "The day the media supposedly _outed_ us for having a secret affair."

"You've known for that long and you didn't bother to let me know?" Chloe was shocked.

Clark closed the folder with a snap. He was still in the dark but he had a vague idea what Chloe's purpose was in this charade and why they pretended to be _accidentally_ caught by the paparazzo's _en flagrante_ in Chloe's office.

"Your _supposed_ fiancée works for LuthorCorp?" Clark demanded.

"If you read further you would've read that she works for LuthorCorp on a _contractual_ basis," Oliver added.

"_You're_ her contract for LuthorCorp?" Chloe questioned.

"Apparently so. Simone would insist our parents _arranged_ our marriage a long time ago, and yes, our parents dealt with each other businesswise before, but that was _years_ ago. And no, I would _know_ if I was promised to wed someone I hardly even know a few years down the road after my parents died."

"So that's why you asked Chloe to _pretend_ to be your lover?" Clark questioned.

"That was before I found out how deep this thing goes. I thought Simone was just one of those opportunist who wanted to snag a rich husband to support her habits once she was married. And I was caught by surprise when news suddenly appeared that I was good as engaged when Simone and I haven't seen each other in over fifteen years!"

"So you came to me and convinced me to playact with you in the hopes of dissuading Simone from ever pursuing you," Chloe said.

"Well _that_ was what I was hoping for before I found out the real reason behind her suddenly pursuing me," Oliver replied.

"Why would LuthorCorp hire someone like Simone to shove at you?" Clark questioned. "What are they expecting to gain?"

"An insight on some of Queen Industries' projects perhaps. You know LuthorCorp and Queen Industries are number one competitors," Oliver reminded his two companions. "The enemy wants to plant a mole deep in the heart of the competition to sabotage later on."

"_But_," Chloe butted in, "our supposed _affair_ put a hiccup on their plans. Do you think Simone will _still_ continue on with this wedding announcement story even though you're obviously not _free_ to wed?" she darted her question to Oliver.

"She might," Oliver replied. "That's why we needed to be seen _more_ in public together."

"Ollie--"

Oliver raised his hand to stop her from protesting. "Let my PR people handle the media. If we're seen together in public _a lot_, then no matter what Simone and Tess and whomever else over in LuthorCorp does to ensure that I end up married to Simone Levesque, it won't stick because we're together," he explained.

"I don't want Chloe to get hurt because of this, Ollie," Clark demanded, his tone serious and his face was set.

Both Oliver and Chloe turned to look at Clark. Worry suddenly covered Chloe's face while Oliver took her in the circle of his arm and kept her there, squeezing her lightly to reassure her that no harm would come her way.

"Don't worry, Clark, I won't let anything happen to Chloe," Oliver promised.

"Make sure that you don't," Clark replied and watched how Chloe turned and cuddled closer to Oliver's side. He knew his best friend would safe as long as she was under Oliver's protection. And since he was let in on what was happening, she'd be doubly protected from any unwanted and unexpected mishap the LuthorCorp camp had planned for them.


	6. VI the Public Eye

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

**Author's Note:** Once again thank you so much to all the wonderful readers and reviewers. I'm glad you're enjoying this fic. It's a first for me to write a straightforward _Smallville_ fic _without_ crossing it over with another fandom! -LoL-

* * *

**VI. the Public Eye**

SO?" LOIS LOOKED UP AT CLARK EXPECTANTLY Saturday morning when Clark stopped by the Talon for coffee. Chloe was still upstairs sleeping-in for a change and Lois finds herself restless because she couldn't pester her cousin for answers to her burning questions.

Clark let out a long, slow breath. He knew what to expect the moment he answered his cell phone's incessant ringing this morning and saw Lois's name on the caller ID. He didn't bother to stay at the Talon after he dropped Chloe off last night after their little powwow with Oliver.

"So what, Lois?" Clark asked after he made himself comfortable on the chair beside the inquisitive reporter who happened to be his partner at the Daily Planet. "Is that for me?" he pointed out Lois' barely touched coffee and grabbed it before she could protest. "Mmm...nice," he smacked his lips in appreciation before setting the cup down.

Lois' expression was murderous after Clark helped himself to _her_ coffee, but since she woke him up real early on a Saturday, she might as well treat him for some coffee.

"You know what I'm talking about, Smallville," she snapped. "What did you find out about Ollie and Chloe? Are they or aren't they?"

Clark stalled some more. He wanted Lois to stew a bit. Besides, even though they work together and have known each other for years now, he wouldn't just share with her _everything_ he found out about the Oliver-Chloe rumor mill.

"Well?" Lois insisted when Clark remained mute.

"Oliver and Chloe talked about Isis and it's new project that Queen Industries is backing up," he answered.

Lois raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow and sat back. She looped one arm over the chair's back rest and regarded her companion questioningly. Something smelled so damn fishy in what Clark just explained and she wasn't buying it.

"You two were there for an awfully long time," she murmured.

"Yeah, so?" Clark reached for her coffee cup again and drank from it. "I told you Chloe and Oliver talked shop."

"And what were _you_ doing there with them? Ollie could've just dropped Chloe off after they were done 'talking shop' as you put it."

"They wanted my opinion from the _media_'s point of view," was Clark's quick reply.

"They could've asked _me_ instead of a newbie like you!" Lois exclaimed, then quickly added, "No offence, Smallville."

"None taken," Clark assured her. "Anyway, there's a gala this evening that Ollie's hosting. Actually one of Queen Industries' subsidiaries will be hosting the gala," he explained and reached for something he slipped in his pants' back pocket. He dropped two tickets on the table and pushed one towards his partner, "Ollie wanted us to come and be the only member of the media who would be on _his_ side as opposed to being against him."

Lois gingerly reached for her ticket and held it aloft. She looked at the sparkly silvery special VIP pass.

"So _you_ are my date for this shindig?"

Clark lifted one shoulder that could mean a shrug or something. He finished her coffee and set the cup down on the table and pushed it towards her. "Thanks for coffee. It's formal so find something flashy and sexy to wear, at least that's what I remembered Ollie tell me to tell you because he'll make sure Chloe wears something as stunning too."

"_Chloe?_" Lois echoed, her gaze following the not-so-scrawny-anymore farm boy get up from his seat. "You mean she's invited too?"

"Yup. I think Ollie plans to take Chloe as his date for tonight's gala," he answered.

"His _date?_" Lois' voice came out as almost a shriek.

Clark merely cocked an eyebrow at her reaction. "Don't worry, it's a _platonic_ date. Ollie's had enough -- for now anyway -- of women expecting _more_ from him every time he asked them to accompany him for the evening."

Lois looked as though she wanted to grill Clark some more, but Clark didn't give her the chance. He bid her goodbye and dashed out of the Talon as fast as he could _without_ resorting to using his powers.

* * *

"I can't believe I let you get away from imminent torture for picking this outfit for me this evening," hissed Chloe beside Oliver as they stood on the limelight holding a drink in each hand and greeting each and every person that wanted to speak briefly with Oliver.

Chloe told Oliver not to bother picking an outfit for her this evening. She told him she doesn't do flashy _nor_ sexy for that matter. She insisted she had something in her wardrobe for this evening's gala, but the billionaire renegade savior and protector of humankind didn't listen to her and surprised her this afternoon by _personally_ dropping by her place carrying a box of the dress he specially picked for her.

Flattered that a man would insist on buying her clothes, Chloe couldn't possibly let Oliver Queen know that! Heck, he wasn't her _boyfriend_ to begin with, so in her books he had no right to shower her with gifts.

But the printed silk spaghetti strap dress was too gorgeous to remain mad at him for. The straps crossed at the back to hold the dress up, but exposed enough skin to attract attention. The front had a triangular cup that showed cleavage and had a band that looked like a belt just under her breasts to help make the top part tight across the chest before it flowed flawlessly down, stopping just an inch above her knees. She would've gone for stilettos, but Oliver took care of her footwear as well.

Once he was done showing her the dress, he produced another box that held a brand new pair of shin-high-heeled black boots. The back looked like it was laced together and it zipped on the side.

Oliver glanced down at his gorgeous date for this evening. So far they've both done their part in this playacting charade to draw more speculation as to what really their relationship was. This evening's event drew more crowd than his normal fundraiser galas does, and he had an inkling as to what drew _half_ of the people present this evening to tonight's soiree.

Looping his arm around Chloe's shoulders, he pulled her closer and leaned his head down closer to her ear and whispered, "Admit it, Sidekick, you _love_ the dress and boots."

Chloe was momentarily stalled from answering him back when a set of blinding flashes were aimed at them. She knew this public display of affection (if anyone would dare call what Oliver and her were doing was a show of PDA) would garner a lot of speculation. They remained aloof and friendly with each other ever since they arrived within minutes of each other to this gala event. They contemplated on whether to arrive together or not, but in the end Chloe suggested that arriving separately would fuel the rumor mill some more on speculations about what their relationship was really about.

Chloe's smile was from ear to ear -- and it was hurting her face to keep it up for the rest of the evening -- as she turned sideways and leaned towards Oliver to whisper, "Did you plan for _us_ to be this evening's main source of entertainment for the media?"

Oliver's rakish grin remained plastered on his face when he replied, "Not really, but I wanted to draw their attention to us and foil whatever other _smart_ plan Simone and her camp has in mind."

"Sneaky," Chloe cocked an eyebrow and rolled her eyes.

Oliver let out a bark of laughter before he straightened up and faced the media and other people coming by to chat. His arm around Chloe's shoulders remained draped around her even while he was busy conversing with numerous people.

For the remainder of the evening Oliver and Chloe played hostess to each and every guest who made it to the gala. When it was time to serve dinner the couple joined Clark and Lois and the other League members. Everyone was having fun, especially when the bids were opened for the Auction portion of the evening where half the proceeds will go to children in need in third world countries.

"This is a great idea for a fundraiser, Ollie," complimented Lois who was seated across from Oliver and Chloe. She was sandwiched between Clark and AC.

"Thanks, but you gotta compliment your cousin for dropping the idea in my head," Oliver beamed at the woman seated beside him. "You can say that this auction fundraiser is a dry-run for when Isis Foundation launches its first ever fundraising gala ball in the near future," he hinted, his arm casually draped over the back of Chloe's chair.

Lois cocked her brow slowly, her eyes watching the couple closely, noting each and every body language from the twosome.

"Oh, you won't mind if I happen to _mention_ that in tomorrow's article?" she asked teasingly.

Oliver flashed her one of his killer smiles that made every red-hot-blooded female within radius' knees quiver at the mere sight. Lois still wasn't immune to Oliver's charms regardless of how many times she prepped herself to _not_ feel anything for Oliver except brotherly affection.

"You and Clark can make it an _exclusive_ tidbit of information you can write about as I will _not_ and _did not_ mention that bit of info to any of the other members of the press who approached us this evening."

"Wow, I feel so privileged," Lois chuckled.

"That's 'coz you _are_ a part of Ollie's 'inner circle,' Lois," said Victor who leaned over from Dinah's side to address the Daily Planet reporter.

Lois smiled at the African-American and winked, "And I'm so going to enjoy the perks of it," she chuckled.

Everyone at the table chuckled. Friendly conversation continued until the evening's emcee took over the stage and started listing the items up for bidding that night.

The evening was winding down when a waiter approached the small group composed of Oliver, Chloe, Clark, Victor and AC. Lois, Dinah and Bart were doing their best to show off on the dance floor and dancing up a storm, with Bart being the two women's partner. The waiter offered them drinks, which the five of them accepted. When it was Chloe's turn to grab for her glass, the waiter moved the tray just slightly making Chloe grab the glass right in front of her as opposed to the one she was grabbing before.

"Sorry," apologized the waiter. "I kinda sprained this wrist," he explained when Chloe cocked an eyebrow when he turned the tray a bit.

"Oh, no worries. Thanks," she grabbed the glass in front of her and gave the waiter a farewell salute before taking a sip of the wine. She returned her attention back to the latest report on LuthorCorp's 33.1 activities, but she found her vision suddenly blurring and her surrounding became hazy. She tripped to the side and spilled her drink on Clark who instantly grabbed her arm before she fell against Oliver who anticipated her call.

"Chloe, what's wrong?" asked Clark.

Victor and AC stood on alert as they watched Chloe collapse in Oliver's arms.

"Chloe?" Oliver helped straighten her up and turned her towards him. Clark stepped up and helped support her while Oliver cupped her face to have a good look at her eyes. She looked buzzed. Her eyes were red and she felt clammy. "Shit," he whispered then ordered no one in particular who was within hearing distance to call 911.

Victor's had his phone whipped out in no time and was dialing the emergency response number. He spoke quickly and explained to the operator what just happened.

Clark and AC assisted Oliver in getting Chloe to somewhere private until the ambulance gets there.

On the dance floor Dinah noticed the commotion and alerted her two companions. They left the dance floor and followed the others outside the main ballroom.

"What happened?" Lois asked when she reached AC.

"Chloe just collapsed," he replied.

"What? Why? How? I mean, she was just fine, dammit!"

"Don't worry, Lois, Oliver and Clark are making sure _nothing_ bad happens to your cousin," Victor reassured the worried Lois. "Ambulance is on its way," he added before he sped past the rest and went in to the cloak room where Oliver and Clark took Chloe.

* * *

Oliver rode in the ambulance with Chloe. Lois, who was still reeling from shock, was left behind in Clark's capable hands. The others had to make excuses for their host's sudden disappearance from the gala, then they followed Oliver and Chloe to the Metropolis General.

Oliver was pacing back and forth inside the waiting room when the rest of the team arrived headed by Clark in the lead.

"How is she?" were the first words out of Clark's mouth as soon as he spotted Oliver.

"She's still in ER. She was poisoned. From what the doctor and nurses told me, they found heavy traces of arsenic poising in her system hence why the rapid reaction," he explained.

"_Poisoned?_" Lois shrieked. She stepped up beside Clark to hear the update on her cousin's health.

Clark turned sideways when he felt Lois walk up beside him. Instinctively he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, trying to comfort her. She has been going nuts since she saw Chloe passed out in the cloak room before the ambulance got there.

"If she was poisoned, shouldn't _we_ be poisoned too? I mean, we all ate and drank the same thing this evening," Dinah pointed out in a more rational tone.

"True," AC agreed. "But Chloe's reaction was instant," he pointed out.

"Then she was probably poisoned when..." Victor's voice faltered, his eyes widened as he remembered what happened just before Chloe collapsed. "Of course!" he snapped his fingers.

"What?" Everyone looked at him expectantly.

Victor looked around the familiar faces looking at him, waiting for him to explain what he just realized. "Before Chloe collapsed, remember that waiter who offered us drinks? He made some lame excuse about having a sprained wrist that's why moved the tray when Chloe was about to reach for her drink?"

AC, Oliver and Clark flashed back to that incident. None of them paid much attention to it and like Chloe, they accepted the waiter's lame excuse. Anyone who had a sprained wrist would act clumsily if they've overworked the said sprained wrist too hard.

"What about him?" asked Clark.

"I didn't pay attention to it, but I think he _deliberately_ wanted Chloe to take the glass she did, because Chloe was reaching for the same flute that I grabbed instead when the waiter's hand wobbled or whatever," he explained.

"Do you remember what this waiter looks like?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah," Victor nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Find him and contain him," snarled Oliver, his hands bunched up to fists at his sides.

"I'll go with Victor," Bart offered.

"No, Bart, I can do this on my own," Victor said.

"Hey, Chloelicious is lying on a gurney in ER fighting for her life. I want to find this bastard waiter and get him to talk. And you know I can find him faster than you can," he reminded subtlety.

"Fine," Oliver made the decision. "Bart, find out what the waiter looks like from Victor then you both split up. I have a gut-feeling this so-called waiter is _not_ really a waiter. Go back to the ballroom and check the wait staff first, even though I have a gut-feeling he just snuck in and pretended to be a part of the staff."

Victor and Bart nodded and left the waiting room immediately. Clark walked Lois to the nearest chair while Dinah and AC offered to grab coffee for everyone and left the room as well. Once Clark was reassured that Lois was okay, he crossed the room to where Oliver stood looking out the waiting room window, his eyes a pair of daggers slicing through whatever he was looking at on the other side of the window.

"Ollie--"

"I should've expected Simone would be capable of doing something like this," Oliver hissed before Clark could say anything.

"What?"

"I guess I didn't think things through before I got Chloe involved in this damn scheme."

Clark pursed his lips and remained mute. Guess he didn't have to scold his friend for pulling this stunt to begin with.

"Simone clearly wants _you_ and would abolish any hindrance in her way," he said instead.

Oliver tore his gaze from the window and met Clark's. "But _killing_ my supposed girlfriend?"

"Not very subtle, I know, but hey, desperate times calls for desperate measures I guess is her motto," he shrugged. "But don't worry. Bart and Victor are out on the prowl for our waiter. Maybe once we have the bastard in custody we'll get light shed into this mess."

Oliver didn't answer right away. He looked away from Clark and settled his gaze somewhere across the horizon, his hands clenching and unclenching to tight fists.

"I hope so," he muttered.


	7. VII the Interrogation

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the somewhat _short_ chapter, but please, don't let that deter you from continuing on reading. I have a 3-day long weekend off from work this weekend so I'll be updating pretty much the entire weekend -- provided I don't get busy enjoying our Thanksgiving festivities this weekend!

* * *

**VII. the Interrogation**

OLIVER'S FINGERS ITCHED TO HAVE HIS BOW AND ARROW handy right about now and shoot it at the lying bastard's throat and end his sorry, miserable existence.

Victor and Bart found the culprit still lurking about the hotel, which made it easier for them to subdue him and take him to an abandoned warehouse that belonged to Queen Industries. They blindfolded the guy and sat him up not-so-comfortably on a spindle-legged chair with broken backrest pieces. He was tied and for the time being until the rest of the League -- minus Lois who opted to stay at the hospital with Chloe -- arrived to start their questioning.

"I think he's telling the truth," Clark said to Oliver who wouldn't stop pacing in the small office room away from where they kept their culprit.

Oliver stopped his pacing and turned to gave his friend a bewildered glare. "You believe his lame-ass excuse about receiving an anonymous phone call to pull a job and get paid in cash at a designated drop off place?"

"Don't bite my head off here too, but I'm with Clark," Bart agreed.

Victor and AC nodded in acquiescence to Clark's observation. Dinah was the only left to give Oliver her opinion about their prisoner, and she seemed to be taking an awfully long time to make up her mind.

"What about you, Dinah?" Oliver asked.

"The guys are right. This bozo here is just a lackey. He's not going to talk anymore than he already did."

"Then how are we going to find out _who_ poisoned Chloe?" demanded Bart.

Dinah raised her shoulders in a shrug and looked at their leader to shed some light to this sudden mystery in their hands. They noticed something's changed between Oliver and Chloe ever since those intimate pictures of the two of them came out a few days ago, but none of them actually believed it; they knew Oliver and Chloe. They've seen them work side by side with each other. They figured somebody was just blackmailing the two CEOs. But after this evening's unprecedented attack on Chloe, the rest of the team were starting to think otherwise on _what_ Chloe Sullivan mean to Oliver Queen.

"We'll find out soon enough," was all Oliver said before adding, "Surrender him to the police. Let them handle him."

"You want us to press charges?" inquired AC.

"Yeah. Tell them what we already know that he did. He snuck in to a private function this evening with the intent of poisoning _and_ killing one of the guests."

"How are we going to explain _why_ we have him?" it was Bart who asked the question.

Oliver took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He couldn't stop thinking about Chloe and the danger he just put her through. He wanted go back to the hospital and relieve Lois from her vigil at her cousin's side, but he must make sure that justice was served first, so he collected himself and replied, "The perp was apprehended shortly after the victim collapsed. Victor can supply them the reason since he was the one who realized it was him who was responsible for Chloe's poisoning."

"AC and I will drop the bastard off to the nearest police station and press charges," said Victor.

"Thanks man," Oliver nodded at the African-American's direction.

Victor nodded his acknowledgement and waved for AC to accompany him.

"Do you want us to dig in some more on that bozo's background and find out who the mystery person was on the other end of the line?" offered Dinah.

Oliver didn't want any more of them to get involved in this problem of his. He figured if he and Chloe were the only targets in Simone's plot, then the less the body count would be, not that he wanted to think bodies would start dropping any time soon just because Simone Levesque didn't get her way with him right from the beginning, but someone needed to anticipate her every move.

"No need. This is not the League's concern," he said.

"The hell it's not!" countered Bart. "Look, _Chloe_ is a part of our team. She's helped us through _a lot_ and kept our secret identities. She deserves to be put on _top_ of the League's priority list. It may not be related to 33.1 or any of LuthorCorp's nasty baddies they're hiding, but Chloe's a friend and someone just wanted to kill her and almost succeeded if we hadn't acted quickly," he argued passionately.

Clark placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. He stepped closer and dropped his voice so only Oliver could hear.

"I think it's time we bring in the rest of the League up to date with what's going on," he advised.

"I can't, Clark. The less people know about this the better," Oliver hissed.

"The _more_ people who knows about it, the _safer_ Chloe and you will be," Clark pointed out. "Look, of all the members of the League, you and Chloe are the two most vulnerable to attacks. Sure Chloe's got the brains and you got the brawn, but your bow and arrow can't protect you from bullets or knives thrown at you," he argued.

Oliver pondered on that for a while. He knew Clark was right. He needed the League's help in order to keep Chloe protected. He doesn't care about himself right now. Simone wanted him, so she'd do _everything_ and _anything_ in her power to keep him safe from harm. Chloe however...

"Dammit!" he hissed and punched the wall in front of him. Taking a few deep, calming breaths, Oliver turned and faced the other three League members. "Once Victor and AC are back, meet me back at the Clock Tower. I have something I need to explain and show you all," he said before stalking out of the warehouse and headed straight back to Metropolis General to check in on Chloe.


	8. VIII the Truth About Chloe & Oliver

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

**VIII. the Truth About Chloe & Oliver**

TWO HOURS LATER AFTER THEY PARTED WAYS at the abandoned Queen Industries warehouse the members of the Justice League met up at Oliver's Clock Tower apartment to hear what their leader had to share with them about tonight's attack on Chloe.

"Okay Ollie, everyone's here and accounted for. _Now_ would you care to tell us what exactly is going on?" Bart demanded not so subtlety as he made himself comfortable on one of the armchairs in the apartment.

Everybody else scattered about the room. Dinah and AC were on the leather loveseat sofa while Victor occupied the other armchair. Clark remained standing on the balcony leading to where Oliver kept his Green Arrow stuff. Oliver stood practically in the center of the room. Clark already knew what was happening, but he made an appearance for Oliver's sake as well as him plasticizing becoming part of a _team_ setting as opposed to being the Lone Ranger.

"I know who was behind the attack on Chloe this evening," Oliver started up, pausing to look at each member of the League before continuing on. "I guess I'll have to start this right from the very beginning so you'll understand why Chloe became the target." Oliver then proceeded to explain to them how and why he got Chloe involved. There were a few surprised gasps and some ribbing that came mostly from Bart about the _steamy_ pictures that graced countless tabloid papers across the country, but once they got past that Oliver became serious and handed the same folder he handed to Chloe and Clark after their get-together Friday night.

"So you're _ supposed_ fiancée in this _fictional_ arranged marriage that was _ supposedly_ setup by yours and her parents is having a hissy fit 'coz you're not single and ready to be taken by her," Dinah surmised the situation after she read the file. "I wonder _how much_ she's gained to lose from this deal with LuthorCorp if she doesn't snag the elusive Oliver Queen," she grinned mischievously and watched Oliver.

"We believe Simone stands to lose _a lot_ if she doesn't get her greedy claws on to Oliver," it was Clark who answered on Oliver's behalf. He moved away from the spot and joined the others in the main living room area of the place. "I did some more background check at the Planet and found out that Simone Levesque is now the one running her family's business, and currently it's close to hitting rock-bottom, but guess what? _LuthorCorp_ went in and helped the flailing heiress get her bearings back, but with a price, of course," he explained.

Oliver couldn't help but be impressed at Clark's detective work. He didn't doubt Clark's ability to get as much dirt or info about Simone, but usually Clark had Chloe to do that for him. Guess now that he works at the Daily Planet he had pretty much the same resources Chloe had before she was let go from working there.

"Nice work, Clark," Oliver complimented.

"Thanks. I needed to know as much as you do since Chloe's life will be at stake, or at least I had a _hunch_ she'd be targeted because she's the one standing between you and Simone," he explained.

Of course Oliver knew Clark wouldn't do something like that for him. Clark and Chloe had been friends long before he stepped in to the picture and became a part of that friendship, but the bond between Clark and Chloe was something he couldn't and wouldn't penetrate; it was a special bond that Oliver knew surpassed numerous tests of time.

"So, what are we going to do now that we know _who_ the bad guy is?" asked Victor.

Oliver and Clark's head whipped to Cyborg's direction. They hadn't gone that far yet. So far the only huge threat was this evening's poisoning incident, but they wouldn't let it past Simone to _not_ go to the extremes if needed.

"For now we continue as we were. We won't alert Simone and her lackeys -- whoever and wherever they may be -- that we suspected something. Chloe and I already agreed to continue on with this charade because it's too late to retract our steps and take back that day. But now we double up protection as far as Chloe's concerned -- and Lois too since she's related to Chloe and given my past history with her...I just don't want either one of them get hurt," Oliver explained.

"Understood," AC, Bart, Dinah and Victor agreed.

"Speaking of Lois," Clark stepped in and addressed everyone in the room, but he settled his gaze on Oliver. "Shouldn't she be in the know about this whole thing as well?"

"Right now the less Lois knows the better for her safety," Oliver answered without skipping a beat. "If she's kept out of the loop and away from myself and Chloe, then there's no need for Simone to use Lois against me _or_ Chloe."

"But she'll suspect _something_ is up," AC pointed out.

"Yeah," Clark agreed. "Lois is not a pushover nor is she naive."

"I know that. She'll know in due time, but for now let's keep her in the dark, alright?" Oliver looked at each of the League members' faces surrounding him. "Lois may know self defense and can handle firearms, but she's not cut-up to do what _we_ are trained to do nor does she have special abilities to help her out when she gets cornered," he added.

"Regardless, we _still_ keep an eye out for Lois and Chloe as they'll most likely be targeted by Simone and her lackeys," Clark insisted.

Oliver knew he couldn't argue that. He wanted both cousins to be protected and not harmed in this foray he unwittingly got themselves in to. He nodded his acquiescence to Clark before turning to address the others.

"Now that you're all in the loop, I understand it's late so feel free to crash here for the night." He turned and headed for the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Dinah asked.

Oliver paused from pressing the button to open the elevator doors and turned to the Black Canary. "I'm going back to the hospital to check on Chloe and Lois," he answered.

"I'm coming with you," Clark announced and walked up to where he stood.

"Alright," Oliver nodded. "We'll be back later. Feel free to stay here as long as you want. We've all had a long night."

* * *

Oliver reached out and gently laid his hand on Lois's shoulder. She fell asleep leaning on Chloe's bedside. She had been moved from the ER to the ICU while he and the League were interrogating Simone's lackey. When he returned he was just in time to catch them moving Chloe from the ICU to one of the regular rooms for monitoring.

Lois jumped at the touch. She moaned and mumbled something but she didn't move.

Oliver smiled and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Time to wake up, Lois. Let me take over looking after Chloe and get some rest," he said.

"Mmm..." Lois murmured.

Oliver pulled back and watched her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision then squinted.

"Smallville?"

"No, it's me, Ollie," he corrected, surprised that she suspected Clark to be here instead of him.

"Oh. Where's Clark?" she asked as she straightened up.

"He's out in the waiting room. He said he'll stay there while I relieve you off your watching duties," he explained.

Lois yawned very unlady-likely, causing Oliver to chuckle and her to blush a bit. "Sorry," she muttered. "I'm just tired and I think I need a big vat of coffee to perk me right up again," she announced.

"It's still too early for coffee. Clark's offered to take you home so you can rest up a bit."

"No. I'll stay here," she insisted. "I want to be here when she wakes up."

"Okay. But you need to rest too," he insisted.

"I'll rest in the waiting room," she said.

"I told you Clark can take you back to the Talon."

"No," she argued more firmly this time. "I want to make sure my cousin's alright, Ollie. Either I stay in here with her or I sleep in the waiting room until she wakes up, but I _ won't_ leave the damn hospital."

Oliver knew he lost this argument with Lois. She can be very stubborn when she wanted to be, and right now she was practicing that stubbornness to the core.

"Fine, but you can't stay cramped up in that chair. Join Clark in the waiting room. I think there's a sofa there where you can stretch out on if you want," he cajoled.

The thought of sleeping on a sofa as opposed to this chair she was using sounded appealing to her. Stretching up and out of the chair. She did a few stretching exercises to re-circulate her blood flow in her body. She smiled up at Oliver and to his surprised, she wrapped her arms around her waist and gave him a tight hug.

"You be good to her and _don't_ you ever dare hurt her," she whispered before untangling her arms from around his waist and walked out of the room, leaving Oliver baffled and puzzled at what she just said.


	9. IX the Morning After

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

**Author's Note:** I just want to take this moment to clarify something. When I referred to Victor as "African-America," I only did so to be _politically_ correct when addressing the said person of certain heritage. I think if I used the term "that black guy," it would've offended _a lot_ of people, and that's not what I wanted. As for using the term "Caucasian," I have to be careful coz I know that is the term used to describe white or fair-skinned folks, but after looking up the _real_ meaning of the word in a dictionary, here's the explanation I got: **• CAUCASIAN** **1.)** _Anthropology__._ of, pertaining to, or characteristic of one of the traditional racial divisions of humankind, marked by fair to dark skin, straight to tightly curled hair, and light to very dark eyes, and originally inhabiting Europe, parts of North Africa, western Asia, and India: no longer in technical use. **2.) **of or pertaining to the Caucasus mountain range. **3.) **of or related to the non-Indo-European, non-Turkic languages of the Caucasus region. **4.) _noun_ **_Anthropology._ a member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Caucasian race, esp. those peoples having light to fair skin: no longer in technical use. **5.)** a native of Caucasia. **•** Anyway, now that that's out of the way and I've explained myself, I'd like to thank everyone who's reading, tracking and enjoying this fic. This is my first _Smallville_ fic and I'm glad the response is great. Just keep on reading!

* * *

**IX. the Morning After**

FIRST THING CHLOE REALIZED AS SOON AS SHE OPENED her eyes was she wasn't in her room at the Talon nor did she crash at Lois' or Clark's place. Heck, this place doesn't even look like her office at Isis nor does it look like Oliver's place, not that she'd know _what_ Oliver Queen's bedroom would look like! She was just hazarding a guess here.

She must've made a sound when she tried to move her head and hands. Something was weighing her right hand down, and when she glanced down to see what it was, she was shocked to find a blond head with spiky hair resting on the side of her bed. Chloe then took her time to examine the room she was in before it registered to her.

She was in a hospital room. But how? And why?

Chloe tried to wriggle her hand free, but on top of Oliver using it as pillow, he was also clutching her hand in his, preventing her from moving it away.

"O-Oliver," her voice came out as a croaky whisper and she hated that. She furrowed her brows together and cleared her throat before trying again. "Oliver," this time her whisper came out lest croaky. "Oliver, wake up," she repeated and moved her hand to shake him awake.

She waited a few seconds before the man using her hand as a pillow stirred.

"Hmm?" Oliver mumbled.

"Ollie, I need my hand back," Chloe whispered and tried to pull her hand back from his grip.

Oliver slowly lifted his head up and turned to the direction of the sound. His eyes were still half-closed when they focused on Chloe.

"Chloe?"

Chloe forced a smile then wriggled her hand free again. "I need my hand back, Oliver," she repeated.

"Oh," it was only then that Oliver realized he was holding her hand. He immediately let it go and straightened up in his seat. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess," she shrugged. "What am I doing here?"

Oliver's eyebrows met at the centre of his forehead as he studied her carefully. "You don't remember what happened at the party?"

"Not really," she admitted.

"You were poisoned, Chloe. At the party. That last glass of wine you took. It was laced with arsenic." Oliver explained.

"What? Why?"

"Simone," was all Oliver said.

"Oh." Chloe understood what that one-word answer meant. "She really wants me out of the picture now, doesn't she?" She tried to make light of the subject, but she knew it was far from being light. Someone wanted her six-feet under the ground no matter what. "Did we catch whomever was the one that poisoned me?"

"We got his lackey locked up. Victor remembered what he looked like and went back to the hotel after we realized how you could've been poisoned and none of us were."

"What are we going to do now, Ollie?"

Oliver took her hand in his once again, squeezing it gently. "The rest of the League are in the know already. Lois is the only one who doesn't know and will be kept in the dark until she absolutely need to be let in the know," he explained.

Chloe's forehead creased to a frown. "Why must she be left out?"

"Lois can be used against the two of us. Of all the people we're mutually acquainted with, _Lois_ is the obvious target to be used as a pawn to hurt either one of us," he explained.

Chloe understood. Oliver's past relationship with Lois and her being cousins with her were their most obvious link to one another.

"I can do some more digging and find out exactly _why_ Simone wanted to become Mrs. Oliver Queen," she offered.

"No," Oliver shook his head and squeezed her hand a bit tighter this time. "I don't want LuthorCorp finding out that _you_ were snooping around. I'll get one of the guys to do the digging. If they don't suspect that _you_ or _I_ suspect something fishy was going on, then I doubt they'll come barreling down on us in full speed."

"But I can't just do _nothing_, Oliver," she pointed out.

"Yes, you can," he insisted. "You have Isis Foundation to run and there are a lot of people out there who are in dire need of your assistance, especially those infected by the meteor rocks. Keep yourself busy with the company and I will do the same. If we keep up the front that we're both busy leading _and_ living our lives as normal as possible, then it'll only play with their mind some more that neither one of us gives a damn about their dubious plans." He squeezed her hand once again, reassuring her that he won't let anything bad happen to her or to her cousin or to anyone else that was related to them one way or the other.

Chloe understood the silent message. She turned her hand palm-up, clasped Oliver's and gave his a reassuring squeeze as well. A small smile cracked her face.

"Justice will be served, Ollie, or else we're not called the Justice League for nothing," she teased.

Oliver choked out a laugh and brought Chloe's hand to his lips and placed an affectionate kiss on it. "Of course. But right now _you_ need to rest while I go let Lois and Clark and the others know that you're finally awake."

"How long was I out?" Chloe asked, suddenly remembering to ask what day it was.

"You've been in and out for at least three days. It's Wednesday morning now."

"Oh wow...it was that bad, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Oliver nodded. "Bart was getting antsy and was really itching to kick some ass, but we had to stop him. I told him we're not going to make a move until we've gathered _all_ our facts first before we make our move," he explained.

"Well, he's not Impulse for nothing," Chloe chuckled.

"True that," Oliver agreed. He slowly unfolded himself from the chair he was occupying, gave Chloe's hand a squeeze and a tap before excusing himself from the room. He informed the attending nurse who quickly checked on Chloe before he went to the waiting room where the others had been cooped-up since Saturday night.

Lois was the first one on her feet when she saw him walked in.

"How is she?" she asked.

"She's awake now and being checked on. You guys can go visit, but make it short 'coz she still needs to rest," he answered.

"Thank God," Lois closed the distance between herself and Oliver and wrapped her arms around him. Oliver returned the hug and looked over Lois' head at the others. Everyone looked relieved that Chloe was finally awake. It had been touch and go with the amount of poison found in her body.

Chloe was kept in the hospital until the end of the week. By Saturday she was dispatched and sent home. Lois moved back in with her at the Talon while Oliver made sure somebody watched over Chloe 24/7 as well as Lois. The League continued to dig in to Simone Levesque and her deal with LuthorCorp while Chloe and Oliver made her sure be kept away from the investigation; they didn't want to spook their suspects.


	10. X Back to Work

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Just borrowing these characters to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea in my noggin'.

**Author's Note:** Once again many thanks to everyone who's reading and enjoying this fic. Just to let you know, I'm sure by now you're pretty aware that I update almost weekly (weekends mostly), but for the month of November, I'll be joining NaNoWriMo _so_ updating this fic might not be done on a weekly basis. But I _will_ try to get some new chapters out for the month of November for you guys to read and enjoy. :)

* * *

**X. Back to Work**

CHLOE'S STINT AT THE HOSPITAL DIDN'T deter her from getting some of Isis Foundation's projects off the ground as soon as she was given a clear bill of health by the doctors who monitored the arsenic poisoning in her system. She was working on a first ever fundraising program for the small amount of people coming in to her office seeking help with their uniqueness.

She received visitors ranging from Clark to Bart. Lois made quite a few stops both at work _and_ at home at the Talon, making sure nobody was secretly trying to kill her cousin and whatnot. The only person who hasn't bothered to come check in on her was Oliver. Heck, not even a phone call or a note or a text message inquiring about her health was received in the week and a half since she was released from the hospital. Chloe was beginning to wonder if he blamed her for getting poisoned or he blamed himself.

Chloe was just about to close the office when she received an unexpected visit Friday afternoon. It was in the form of one Oliver Queen who strode in to the Isis office dressed down in washed out pair of jeans, a crisp white cotton tee tucked in topped with an open forest green polo shirt. He was dressed ever so casually that Chloe doubted he went to work today at all. Not that he needed to work since he was a born billionaire, but still he needed to make the usual appearances.

"Well," Chloe paused from clearing her desk, one hand resting on top of a manila folder while the other was planted on her slender hip. She gave Oliver quick head-to-foot appraisal, a smirk playing on her lips. "Look who the cat dragged in," she murmured.

Oliver had the decency to look bashful at the greeting. There was even a tinge of something pink that streaked his cheekbones.

"I take it you missed me?" he asked sheepishly.

Chloe cocked an eyebrow and let out an unlady-like snort. "Missed you? Now _why_ would I do that?"

It was Oliver's turn to cock an eyebrow. "And here I thought you'd be missing me 'coz we haven't seen each other since the day you regained consciousness at the hospital," he murmured.

"So the disappearing act _was_ deliberate."

"What?" Oliver's eyes widened in feigned innocence. "I didn't pull any disappearing act on you."

"Uh-hm," Chloe didn't sound convinced. She continued clearing her desk, slipping some folders into her bag. "What brings you to my office at this time of the day dressed so casually?"

"It's Friday," Oliver announced as if it should mean something important.

"Yeah, I know it's Friday," she agreed.

"So?"

Chloe stopped and met his gaze, an eyebrow cocked. "So?" she micmicked.

Oliver cocked an eyebrow in response as well. Clearly she forgot what tonight was. "Lois picked the movie for this evening. Dinah and AC assigned themselves as cooks. And _I_ was tasked to pick _you_ up and personally escort you back to the Clock Tower."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh c'mon Chloe, are you really going to make this tough on me, hm?"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's _Friday_, Chloe. The League's meeting at my place for some catch-up."

"Oh," Now everything started to make sense for Chloe. With everything going on it completely slipped her mind that this week was the League's bi-weekly get-together at Oliver's place. "That's tonight?"

"Don't tell me you forgot."

"I--I..." Chloe's voice trailed off and only managed to give him an apologetic smile. "It's been a crazy few days since our last get-together, you know?"

"Ah, so it's a good thing then that the guys tipped me off about picking you up, just to make sure that _you_ make an appearance tonight," he grinned.

Now it was Chloe's turn to blush. "Oh God, I can't believe I forgot about tonight. And to think that the guys almost _always_ visits me or at least checks in on me. And hey, even Lois became a _permanent_ fixture in my life once again!" she chuckled.

"What do you mean?" he frowned.

"Oh, ever since I got home from the hospital Lois made it _her_ sole mission to be my Florence Nightingale, although she _lacks_ the wonderful bedside manner Florence Nightingale has."

Oliver's expression changed quickly when he learned of Lois making herself an easy target by continually spending time with Chloe. He remembered the reports he received from the men he posted to watch over Chloe and Lois. When they mentioned Lois often visiting Chloe since her release from the hospital, he dismissed it as something of a once or twice a week type of thing.

"What's wrong?" Chloe's face became serious when she saw the change in Oliver's expression.

"Nothing," Oliver didn't want to worry Chloe anymore than she probably already was. "So, ready?"

"Not until you tell me what just happened," she demanded.

"Nothing happened," he insisted.

"No, _something_ happened. You had that look on your face," she commented. "It was worry. Now you better tell me or neither one of us will leave this office on time and get to _your_ place before they serve dessert," she threatened.

* * *

Chloe was still reeling from the information Oliver gave her before they left her office. Seems like while she was busy taking care of Isis Foundation and her growing clientele, the rest of the League -- as well as some of Oliver's personal P.I.'s -- were busy digging up as much dirt as they can about Simone, LuthorCorp and Tess Mercer.

"She's willing to go through certain lengths to ensure she snares you, doesn't she?" Chloe muttered seated beside Oliver's slick silver sports car as they zipped through early evening traffic to get to his place on time. "I mean, she had a back-up plan to use in case poisoning me to death didn't work."

"Simone wants to gain access to _my_ personal life and LuthorCorp's itching to find out as much as they want to find out about my personal life as well," Oliver said while his eyes remained on the road ahead.

"Do we know _why_ they wanted that so badly?" she questioned.

"I still don't know. But I got my people as well as the League checking in on it. Clark's spearheading this for now as I don't want this research to be traced down to me or to you for that matter," he explained.

Chloe cocked an eyebrow and studied her companion's profile. "_Clark_ is leading the search?"

"Uh-hm," he nodded.

"We're talking about Clark Kent here, right? I mean, Smallville, Kansas' Clark Kent? Lois' partner? Boy Scout?"

"Uh-hm," he nodded still. "Now don't be surprised that Boy Scout finally agreed to take some responsibilities. He needs to learn how to become a leader and have people answer to him for a change."

"Wow..."

Oliver cocked an eyebrow and stole a quick glance her way before returning his attention back on the road ahead. "You sound surprised."

"Yeah. I mean, I know Clark's changed somehow since he started working at the Daily Planet, but for him to _accept_ being the leader? That's just not Clark. He's too...well, too nice and sometimes indecisive when it comes to making hasty last-minute decisions."

"Then let this be his crash-course into becoming a leader," Oliver grinned.

"So I take it that Lois is still kept in the dark about what's going on?" Chloe decided to change topics to calm her nerves before she reached his place. After all she just found out, she needed to steer her mind off the possibilities that they could come under attack right now as they drove towards his place.

"Yep, she's still in the dark. It's kinda hard to explain to Lois that aside from me being the Green Arrow, the rest of the League are a group of specially gifted people. And I think Clark would have a conniption if Lois finds out he's an alien."

"Don't you mean Lois will have a conniption once she finds out that Clark's been holding out _a lot_ on her? Not to mention when she finds out that you and I are in the know about Clark's heritage and all that."

Oliver merely shrugged. "True, but I think Clark would have a fit too if Lois finds out about him."

"And why is that?"

A mischievous grin suddenly appeared on Oliver's face as he slowed down to make a turn to the underground parking to his building. Chloe waited for him until after he entered the parkade before prodding him to tell her what it was he was thinking.

"You're killing me here, Oliver," she muttered in frustration.

Oliver shifted the gear to PARK and killed off the engine before turning to face his companion. "I think Clark and Lois have something brewing between them. And you know how Clark is when it comes to letting the current apple of his eyes find out he is different from everybody else."

Chloe was too stunned to say anything. Oliver sounded so sure of what he just told her and Chloe had no way of refuting his claim. She did notice the change in Lois and Clark's relationship, but since she had been busy running Isis Foundation, she and Lois barely had time to have any girl-talk.

"I think my cousin and I needs a girls a night out," she announced after a while.

Oliver's reply was a chuckle before slipping out the driver's seat and rounded the car to open the door for her. He offered her his arm and together they walked to his private elevators that leads to the Clock Tower suite. Inwardly Oliver was patting his back and congratulating himself on steering Chloe's mind off Simone and LuthorCorp. He knew the petite blond would be more interested in finding out what's been developing between her cousin and best friend without her having an inkling about it.


End file.
